ipl-logo

The Harpies And The Suicide Forest In Dante's Inferno

1545 Words7 Pages

In a way, Dante created the Harpies for the reason so they could feel more pain and to release their pain. The Harpies and the suicide forest is a creative way to let the souls vacate their pain. If Dante did not create the unique suicide forest or the Harpies, the souls would not be in the amount of pain that Dante wanted them to and they would not be able to discharge the pain that they needed to. For example, Dante noticed a souls in Hell that depended on the Harpies. Dante said: “And then, perhaps because his breath began / To fail him, he stopped and hunched against a bush / As if to make himself and its branches one” (XIII. 115-117). The pain that the soul was experiencing was so profound that it needed to depend on the forest to release …show more content…

The more profound that the sin that they committed was, the deeper they are frozen in the ice. All of the souls had a betrayal of trust, one being Cain who killed his brother Abel. While being in circle nine and traveling through the different pouches of circle nine, Dante and Virgil made it to Caina, named after Cain for killing his brother and losing the trust that they had as he went against his kin. After moving through the different levels of the ice, Dante and Virgil see several people that they recognize, and then Dante begins to say, “I saw a thousand faces after that, / All purple as a dog’s lips from the frost: / I still shiver, and always will, at the sight / Of a frozen pond” (XXXII. 67-70). Dante had traveled through several levels of Hell and has been through several pouches of circles, and when he saw the souls frozen to the pond, he was so disturbed that he could not get the image out of his mind. As they were moving through the frozen pond, Dante said: “I quaked in the internal chill; and next- / I don’t know whether by will or fate or chance- / Walking among the heads I struck my foot / Hard in the face of one, with violence / That set him weeping…” (XXXII. 72-76). Dante has walked around Hell for a long time and he has never stepped on a head, but when he got to circle nine and saw the frozen souls in the pond and when he stepped on one, he knew that immense pain that they were enduring because he had a sense of pain in himself for simply stepping on someone’s head. Although being in the deepest part of Hell, it includes the deepest amount of pain that was felt. Virgil and Dante journey to the deepest pouch in Hell: Judecca. As they were traveling and made it to the last pouch in circle nine, Dante says, “I drew behind my leader’s back again. / By now (and putting it inverse I find / Fear in myself still) I had journeyed down

Show More
Related
620 Words | 3 Pages

When Dante and Virgil go to the last circle which is the ninth circle of hell they see sinners in ice some are more deeper than others Then they see a giant shape in the fog and they realize that it is Satan. Half of his body is under the ice and he has bat like wings. Lucifer had one head but three faces the face in the middle was red the face on the right was yellow and the face on the left was black “when i beheld three faces on his head!

Read More
272 Words | 2 Pages

In Dante’s Inferno, the ideas of justice, good and evil, and suffering in hell are implied. The idea of suffering in hell and the idea of justice are closely related. Dante indicates that those suffering in hell have committed crimes that are being punished in a reasonable way and that we should not have pity for them. He uses the setting and his organization of hell to transmit these ideas and his philosophy regarding these ideas. The organization of hell helps us understand that Dante believed it was a person’s poor decisions and not cruel fate that got a person in hell.

Read More
171 Words | 1 Pages

Later, in the Ninth Circle of Hell, is a frozen lake where souls are encased in ice up to their heads. Walking on the frozen lake, Dante accidentally kicks one of the souls and when he leans down to apologize, he recognizes it to be Bocca degli Abati, an Italian traitor. Dante threatens Bocca for his traitor and proceeds to tears some of his hair out before leaving him in the ice. Virgil and Dante progress to the Second Ring, where Dante is shocked to see one sinner biting at another’s head from behind. He questions why the soul acts this way, and the sinner pauses from his chewing.

Read More
608 Words | 3 Pages

Dante had never seen Satan before and the first time seeing him frightened him, as he saw three heads with huge bat looking wings, chewing on sinners. Dante hides behind Virgil when approaching Satan, as it seems to be the only shelter he finds. From the Lucifer in Dante's Inferno to the Satan that readers might imagine, there is a big difference because most of the time the stereotypical Satan is a red, half man, half goat with a large pitchfork. When according to Dante, he is much more large and insidious to whomever comes across him. The description given by Dante creates fear to the reader.

Read More
606 Words | 3 Pages

In Dante's Inferno, Dante who is main character is getting a tour of hell by his tour guide Virgil. Virgil his tour guide presents to him all the nine levels of hell, including the punishments the sinners must suffer with for all eternity. In the ninth level of hell, the worst sinners are frozen in a giant lake. The sinners are then eaten alive by whom is so called satan. According to Dante, Satan is described as “Than do the giants with those arms of his; consider now how great must that whole, which unto such a part conforms itself… O, what a marvel it appeared to me, when i beheld three faces on his head!

Read More
244 Words | 1 Pages

Dante shows his anger to the spirits and says “ master, truly I should like to see that spirit pickled in this swill”(Dante 63.50-51). Dante shows how he starts to get impatient with the spirits in the way that he speaks to them and reacts to the things they say. At one point of the book he gets mad at one of the spirits and states “my master: stare a little longer, he said, and I will quarrel

Read More
463 Words | 2 Pages

Unfortunately, Dante’s journey transitions from the wood into the depths of Hell where he and readers discover the Christian view of sin, repentance, and the need for a savior. The author introduces his readers to Jesus Christ during Virgil and Dante’s conversation about the lost souls in Limbo. In the First Circle of Hell, known as Limbo, the lost souls that did not have an opportunity to meet Jesus Christ dwell in this place. Although they did not sin, they did not have a proper relationship with God through Jesus Christ. However, Virgil testifies about Jesus’ decision into Hell when he says, “ I saw a mighty lord descend to us…

Read More
971 Words | 4 Pages

The story revolves around metaphors where everything has a double meaning behind what is said. Here what Dante is trying to tell us is that he wakes up in hell because he has strayed from the righteous path that the church and God has set for him. This medieval writing continues throughout the layers of hell sinners are damned to hell and live in a world devoid of any sanitation everything around them is full of suffering and death. Above the gate is a message that tells the beginning of the journey into hell and the suffering that will be caused, “I AM THE WAY INTO THE DOLEFUL CITY, I AM THE WAY INTO ETERNAL GRIEF… ABANDON EVERY HOPE, ALL YOU WHO ENTER” (399, 1). The church brings out these punishments seeing as the medieval era he lived in was during the time that the church dominated a person’s way of living.

Read More
1633 Words | 7 Pages

“Durante Degli Aligheries Inferno {Part of the Divine comedy} is widely regarded as the greatest poem in modern european language, its allegorical comparisons, metaphors and satirical critisism of italy in the 15th century all contribute to its level of prestige. However, what influenced Dante Aligherie to create such a masterpiece? By looking at Dante Aligheries participation in Florentine Politics and comparing it to the extensive amount of political references used in Dantes Inferno it is clear that Politics played a vital role in creating Dantes depiction of Hell. Furthermore, by examining the importance of religion in medieval Italy and Dantes connection to the church, one can easily see that Dante heavily uses religious references to the pope of the church. Finally, this essay will investigate how Dantes connection to Florentine art influenced the poems content.

Read More
1311 Words | 6 Pages

The reason behind each circle of hell in the book is because each sinner receives the punishment fitting the crime they have committed while they were on Earth. There are several things in each circle that prove the theme of divine retribution. Some examples would include the Second Circle (Lust), the Third Circle (Gluttony), the Fifth Circle (Anger), the Seventh Circle (Violence), and the Eighth Circle (Fraud). Dante attempts to punish people in hell according to the sins they committed on Earth.

Read More
838 Words | 4 Pages

Dante’s quest involved journeying through Hell. He traveled farther and farther down in Hell until he got to the very last circle. He had to face many challenges on his way down. One barrier he faces is Charon and the river, Acheron. Another rough patch was Minos because he won’t let Dante through because he was not dead.

Read More
1874 Words | 8 Pages

But, as the poem continues to progress, it becomes quite clear the there is a perfect balance within God’s justice as the degree of each sinner’s punishment perfectly reflects upon the gravity of the sin. Furthermore, the inscription on the gates of Hell explicitly states that Hell exists as a result of divine justice; “ll. “ Justice moved my great maker; God eternal / Wrought me: the power and the unsearchably / High wisdom, and the primal love supernal (III.4-6).” Prior to delving into the structure of Hell and how it displays God’s divine justice, one must first familiarize themselves with both the historical context of Dante’s life, along with the beliefs of the medieval church.

Read More
667 Words | 3 Pages

In Dante’s Inferno, he writes about his journey through hell for the purpose of recognizing his sins. He goes through this journey with Virgil, a voice of reason for Dante. Dante meets people through his journey of the many circles in the Inferno that lead him down into the center of hell, where Satan is. Satan is seen as being monster-like with three heads, representing a mocking of the Trinity and blowing his wings around the cocytus river. The final thing seen here is the fact that Dante’s description of Satan is a bit disappointing compared to the other descriptions he has written about the inferno.

Read More
1207 Words | 5 Pages

"The Inferno" is the first book in the epic poem called the “Divine Comedy” by the Italian politician Dante Alighieri and it is followed by "Purgatorio" and "Paradiso”. The book "Inferno", which is the Italian translation for Hell, tells the journey of its author through what he believes is Hell, which consists of nine circles of pain and suffering. In his journey, he is guided through the nine circles by the Roman poet Virgil. Each circle in the book represents a different type of sin with a different type of punishment, varying according to the degree of the offense they committed in their life. By the end of his journey through all of the circles, Dante realizes and emphasizes the perfection of God's Justice and the significance of each offense towards God’s unconditional love.

Read More
1009 Words | 5 Pages

Granted, going through Hell is no walk in the park but within the first six cantos he has already passed out twice and has burst into tears too many times to count! Dante 's got heart. One of his best attributes is empathy but his guide Virgil helps toughen him up as they move along. In fact, Dante toughens up pretty quickly as he rages against Filippo , argues with Farinata , and rants at Pope Nicholas III. After each round of righteous indignation, Virgil claps Dante on the back and congratulates him for putting yet another sinner in his place.

Read More

More about The Harpies And The Suicide Forest In Dante's Inferno

Related Topics

Open Document